What does cursoriness mean?
Cursoriness is an abstract noun denoting the quality of being cursory: hasty, superficial, and lacking the attention a matter deserves. Where "cursory" describes an action or examination — a cursory glance, a cursory reading — cursoriness names the underlying disposition or manner, allowing writers to discuss it as a property of a person's work or conduct. The word appears most often in formal, critical contexts: a reviewer may lament the cursoriness of a biography's research, or a report may note the cursoriness of an official investigation. Its connotations are unfailingly negative, suggesting negligence rather than efficiency — the implication is always that greater thoroughness was expected and withheld. Etymologically it descends through Latin "cursorius" (fit for running), from "cursor," meaning runner, which makes it a distant relative of words such as "current," "courier," and "corridor." For readers and writers alike, it offers a precise vocabulary for a familiar shortcoming: work done quickly at the expense of care.
nounThe quality or state of being cursory; hasty and superficial treatment of something that deserves closer attention.
- Hasty, superficial treatment of a task, text, or subject — doing only what is minimally required without care or attention to detail.
"The inspector's report betrayed a cursoriness that suggested he had spent barely ten minutes on site."
"The professor's cursoriness in grading the essays was evident from the identical comments scrawled on every page."
"What struck her most was not the criticism itself but the cursoriness with which it had been delivered."
Rarely pluralized; as an abstract quality it is nearly always used in the singular, even when referring to repeated instances.
"The editor grew weary of the writer's recurring cursorinesses, each draft as hasty as the last."
Its Latin ancestor, "cursor," literally meant "runner" — so cursoriness is, quite literally, the quality of merely running past something instead of stopping to examine it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cursoriness
Cursoriness derives from "cursory," which English adopted via French from the Latin "cursorius" (meaning "of or belonging to running"), itself formed on "cursor," the Latin word for a runner, from the verb "currere," "to run." The adjective entered English in the early seventeenth century, and "cursoriness" developed as its corresponding abstract noun using the common "-ness" suffix. Because both trace back to "currere," cursoriness is etymologically related to words such as "current," "courier," and "corridor," all of which preserve the ancient image of running or flowing movement.
Related word forms
How cursoriness is actually used
An abstract noun of fairly formal register, used mainly in evaluative or critical contexts — reviews, inspections, scholarship. It carries a distinctly negative connotation, implying a duty of care that was neglected rather than simply speed.
Easily confused with cursoriness
"Cursory" is the adjective describing something done hastily and superficially, while "cursoriness" is the noun naming that quality itself.